Advice after your nerve block for surgery
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What can I do to prevent HCAI?
While in Hospital (For Patients)
- Hand Hygiene: Use the hand sanitizer available at the bedside regularly, especially before meals, and after washing your hands with soap and water.
- Challenge Staff: Do not hesitate to ask staff whether they have cleaned their hands before examining or caring for you.
- Keep Your Bed Area Clean: Keep your bed space tidy to support effective cleaning by staff.
- Wounds and Devices: Avoid touching any dressings, drips, catheters, or other medical devices unless discussed with Staff.
- Report Concerns: If you have any concerns about the cleanliness of the ward or toilets, please inform the nurse in charge.
- Symptoms: If you experience diarrhoea or vomiting, notify the nurse or doctor caring for you immediately.
- Hydration and Oral Care: Ensure you stay well-hydrated and maintain good oral hygiene.
- Previous Infections: If you know you have previously tested positive for MRSA or CPE, please inform the nurse or doctor caring for you.
- Personal Items: Use your own toiletries and keep your fingernails short.
When visiting (For Public)
- Do Not Visit if Unwell: Do not visit if you have symptoms of infection, such as fever, cough, flu, diarrhoea, or vomiting.
- Limit Visitors: Limit the number of visitors to reduce overcrowding and risk of infection.
- Hand Hygiene: Sanitise hands upon entering and leaving clinical areas.
- Bed Space Restrictions: Do not sit on patients' beds, use the chairs provided. Do not handle patient’s dressings, drips or other equipment around the bed.
- If you see an area of a ward that you feel has not been cleaned sufficiently, such as the patient’s bed area or toilet facilities, please report it to the ward staff
- Toilet Usage: Do not use patient toilets.
- Food and beverages: Do not bring in hot food from home or fast-food outlets for patients you are visiting, before checking with the Staff.
- Visiting times: Please check and adhere to the visiting times to allow Staff to clean and provide care more easily.
- Please follow guidance from staff regarding PPE e.g. mask wearing
What is a healthcare-associated infection (HCAI)?
This is an infection that may affect people when they are receiving healthcare. People may acquire these infections in hospital, but they could also acquire them in care homes, GP surgeries, health centres, or even at home if they are being cared for there.
How many people have a HCAI?
Approximately 8 out of 100 people in hospitals in the UK will have a HCAI at any given time. Most of these infections have no long-lasting effects. It is not known how many people in care homes or in their own homes have a HCAI.
Why do people get a HCAI when receiving healthcare?
There are lots of reasons why someone can develop a HCAI. Being ill or receiving treatment can make your natural defence system (immune system) weaker than usual. Most people won’t pick up a HCAI while they are being treated but it is impossible to completely remove all the risk in healthcare. This is because every disease or condition, procedure and sometimes medication, can reduce your natural defences against infection.
What are the most common types of HCAI in hospital?
The most common types of HCAI in hospitals are urinary tract infections and respiratory tract infections, and less commonly, wound infections after surgery.
What type of organisms cause HCAI?
Most HCAIs are caused by bacteria that live normally on our bodies and usually do us no harm, such as Staphylococcus aureus (a skin bacteria) and E.coli (a gut bacteria).
Two of the most well-known HCAIs are caused by ‘MRSA’ and ‘C. diff.
- MRSA (meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a skin bacteria that is resistant to a number of antibiotics, which can cause infection if it gets into a place where skin bacteria should not be – such as a wound or the bloodstream
- C. diff (Clostridioides difficile) is a bacteria that some people have living naturally in their bowel (or may be acquired through ingestion of spores from the environment). For some people unfortunately, this can develop into diarrhoea (for example, after receiving antibiotics)
What happens if I get an HCAI?
This depends on the type of infection you have, and your general health. If you are in hospital, the clinical staff looking after you will talk to you about the care and treatment you will need.
You may:
• be cared for in a single room
• need extra medicine e.g. antibiotics
• receive advice about what you can do to help prevent the infection from spreading
What is Frimley Health doing to prevent HCAI spreading?
Preventing and controlling HCAI is a very high priority, and we are working hard to prevent the spread of infection. This includes:
- providing training for hospital staff and contractors in infection prevention and control on induction and yearly
- increasing and updating single room facilities
- carrying out a programme of ‘deep-cleaning’ of all hospital areas and investing in new technology like UV robot
- carrying out a robust programme of audit (of clinical and cleanliness practices) and surveillance (of HCAI-causing organisms)
- screening patients for antibiotic-resistant organisms and increasing awareness through clinical sessions and bulletin
Contact us
If you have any queries relating to this information, please contact the Infection prevention and control (IPC) service.
About this information
Service:
Infection prevention and control (IPC)
Reference:
LL/005
Approval date:
23 December 2024
Review date:
1 December 2027
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Important note
This page provides general information only. It is developed by clinical staff and is reviewed regularly every 3 years for accuracy. For personal advice about your health, or if you have any concerns, please speak to your doctor.